


I'm Not Proposing

by lazyfic



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Engagement, Established Relationship, Fluff, Japan, M/M, proposing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-30 05:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21423109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfic/pseuds/lazyfic
Summary: Dan knows Phil’s going to propose while they’re on holiday in Japan and he won’t stop bringing it up.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 23
Kudos: 209





	I'm Not Proposing

**Author's Note:**

> I caught the proposing-in-Japan-bug that’s going around and wrote this to cure myself. Enjoy!

Dan stood at the window of their hotel suite looking out at the night sky watching as the lights in the distance blinked. He almost couldn’t believe where they were. Five years later they were back in one of their favourite countries and it had all been a surprise for Dan. He was a little overcome with how lucky he was and that nagging part of him that tried to convince him he didn’t deserve any of it was also present. He could never truly quiet that part of his brain down. He did get better and not dwelling on it had gotten easier especially when he thought about everything Phil had put together and then it hit him.

“Surprise first-class tickets to Japan, the most extravagant hotel suite we’ve ever stayed in...oh my god you’re proposing aren’t you?” Dan asked turning to where Phil was already sprawled out on their giant hotel bed.

Phil smirked, knowing he hadn’t exactly been subtle, “Right now? No, I am not proposing to you right now.”

“But you are proposing at some point? On this trip?” Dan crossed the room and crawled onto the bed next to Phil.

“That’s irrelevant because right now I am not proposing to you.”

Dan cradled Phil’s face with his hand and gently pulled him in. He kissed him slowly before pulling back and smiling at the flush that appeared across Phil’s face and down his neck. 

“All of this really is incredible, Phil, thank you.”

“You deserve it,” Phil whispered. 

“_We_ deserve it.”

***

Later that night as they were falling asleep facing each other with just their hands holding onto one another, Dan whispered, “I will say yes, by the way.”

“Hm?” Phil was already half-asleep keeping his eyes closed.

Dan pressed a few kisses to Phil’s knuckles, “When you do propose I will say yes. I just don’t want you to be worried about that.”

“Still not proposing,” Phil replied but making sure to give Dan’s hand a comforting squeeze. 

***

The next morning Dan ordered room service for them while Phil took a shower and when Phil walked out to pancakes, pastries, bacon, fruit he will only nibble at, and coffee his face lit up in surprise and excitement. 

“Hope ordering breakfast didn’t ruin any plans this morning of you proposing to me,” Dan said smirking. 

Phil’s face dropped immediately with a roll of his eyes, “Dan, I’m not proposing to you so get that out of your head.”

“Right,” Dan said reaching out for Phil’s hand and pulled him forward, “You’re not proposing to me, right now, I get it.”

“I’m not proposing to you at all,” Phil said even though he knew it was written all over his face that he was lying. 

Phil was a terrible liar and Dan was also an expert in all things Phil. It was impossible for him to keep anything from Dan so he knew that no matter what he did Dan would catch onto something as big as asking him to be his husband. But Phil also didn’t want to just pop the question one day during a round of Mario Kart or after sex one night. He wanted to spoil Dan, he wanted them to be somewhere special that they both loved, he wanted to celebrate them and celebrate the next big chapter in their life. 

And Phil wanted to be the one to propose. It wasn’t lost on him that they both had been through a lot of hardship in their lives and both deserved to be spoiled but some of that hardship for Dan was the relationship between his parents. It was something that Phil couldn’t relate to on a personal level because the joy and love he grew up seeing between his parents was something to aspire to. Dan didn’t get that. Dan got something way more complicated and often times painful. Marriage to Dan looked a lot different than what it looked like to Phil. There was a time when he was completely against the idea of marriage. And Phil was okay with that. Did he want to be married someday? Yeah, but he wanted to be with Dan regardless of marriage. Then something happened a couple years ago Dan started dropping comments here and there about being married or them being husbands. Phil took it to heart, it filled him with warmth but he held his excitement close to him because he didn’t want to scare Dan away from the idea. It wasn’t until Phil had his passing out episodes that landed him in hospital before Dan properly brought up the idea of them being married.

“You want to get married, right?” Dan had asked out of the blue as they were waiting to see the doctor one last time before being discharged. 

Phil blinked his eyes open, “Right now? No, right now I’m a little preoccupied.”

“I’m being serious,” Dan said.

“Yes, Dan, I do want to get married at some point in time but,”

“Me too,” Dan interrupted, “to you specifically.”

Phil smiled, his heart finding it hard to contain the sudden jolt of happiness coursing through him, “Well that’s a relief that you don’t fancy my doctor and want to marry her.”

“Shut up,” Dan laughed, “I was just thinking about it is all and I want you to know I’m not scared.”

Phil’s lips quirked into a smile as he tried not to laugh. 

“Ok I am terrified but,” Dan admitted

“I’m terrified too,” Phil interrupted, “That seems to be our default but we somehow make it work.”

They were quiet for a moment, Dan chewing on the end of one of his fingers staring off at the floor. 

“Together,” Dan said, “We make it work because we do it all together.”

“Yeah,” Phil smiled. 

***

A month or so later they had a proper sit down about their individual expectations for marriage. It felt way more grown-up than Phil thought he was capable of even though he was older than his own parents were when they got married. Phil thought he’d probably always feel younger than he was. 

Ever since that conversation, Phil was silently preparing how he was going to propose. He thought about doing it in Isle of Man surrounded by his family because that had always been a safe place for them but when Dan randomly mentioned missing Japan it all came together in Phil’s mind. He bought the tickets, he booked the fancy hotel, he looked for what they would do all over Japan, and he bought a ring for Dan. And then when Dan’s project he’d been working on tirelessly didn’t pan out the way he wanted and was wallowing in discouragement Phil sprung the news on him that they were flying out to Japan in just a matter of weeks. 

And then they were in Tokyo eating way too many pancakes in their swish hotel at the top of a skyscraper overlooking the huge city below. 

***

After breakfast they went to Pallete Town, a place they had learned about the last time they were in Japan but unable to get to, they had said they’d go the next time they were in Japan. They spent the majority of the afternoon getting lost in the amazing art exhibitions at the digital art museum. Then just as the sun began to set Phil pulled Dan away towards the giant ferris wheel and watched as Dan’s face lit up with excitement and a pinch of nostalgia. 

“Of course!" Dan teased as they sat comfortably in the glass vestibule waiting for it to begin its journey, "a ferris wheel is a classic place to propose,”

“It’s also the most obvious place to propose,” Phil replied taking Dan’s hand into his own, “Now be quiet and enjoy the view.”

***

The next night they had dinner with Duncan and Mimei and halfway through their meal Dan said, “Have you guys heard the big news? Phil is proposing to me.”

Mimei and Duncan’s heads snapped to look at Phil with shock on their faces and Phil began to laugh.

“I am not proposing,” Phil informed, giving Dan a pointed look. 

Mimei looked to Dan then back at Phil, “I’m confused.”

“Did you guys get engaged?” Duncan asked confusion written all over his face. 

“No, but Phil is proposing to me at some point,” Dan said his dimples carving canyons into his cheeks. 

“Dan’s teasing,” Phil clarified, “I’m not proposing, it’s just a joke Dan keeps bringing up.”

They finished their meal and the two couples walked the streets a bit before saying goodnight. Mimei managed to pull Phil aside and ask about the “joke” they had mentioned earlier.

“It’s not a joke,” Phil laughed at the absurdity of it, poor Mimei was so confused, “I actually am proposing but I keep telling Dan that I’m not.”

“How does he know?” she asked with her sweet voice.

“He figured it out,” Phil smiled, “I’m not the best at lying.”

Mimei gave him a big hug, “I’m so happy for you! If you need any help with it just let us know!”

“I will, thank you,” Phil said as they parted and walked back over to the other guys. 

***

The rest of their trip consisted of plenty of adventure and exciting new experiences to share with one another but also moments of quiet with just the two of them holed up in their hotel room tangled together. Their trip was three and a half weeks long and by the end of the first week, Dan let the proposal teasing subside. There wasn’t any inclination that Dan was upset that he hadn’t been proposed to and Phil was thankful for the bit of peace it brought to not think about constantly. As sure as he was about Dan saying “yes” especially with Dan already saying as much there was still some anxiety that crept up when he thought about what was coming. 

They had a few days left of their trip and made it back to Tokyo. They made plans to walk around Pallete Town again since there was so much to see there and they hadn’t gotten to all of it their first day in Tokyo. This was Phil’s plan all along and he prayed Dan would be the one to bring up going back one last time. 

They walked around all the shops, took in all the amazing architecture of the Venus Fort, and stopped to take pictures constantly. They had dinner at a fantastic little place that Duncan had recommended and then walked towards the ferris wheel. The air was cold but the buzzing of people all around kept them warm. 

“Do you want to ride the wheel one more time?” Dan asked, “Who knows how long it’ll be until we get back here.”

The certainty that no matter how much time passed it was understood that when they did come back it would be together filled Phil with pride for the solid relationship they'd built.

This was it, everything was falling right into place as if by fate. Phil didn’t have to come up with some clever excuse to get them on the wheel again because here was Dan already asking. 

“Sure,” Phil answered turning his head up towards the wheel hoping to hide his nervousness. 

They were unusually quiet as they paid for their tickets and got in line. By the time they got into the glass vestibule, they hadn’t spoken much at all and part of that was because Phil was afraid that if he spoke too soon his plan would burst. Once they got seated the pressure was on, having been on the wheel before Phil knew they had less than twenty minutes before they’d be back down on the ground.

Dan was the first to break their silence as he pulled Phil’s hands into his own and onto his lap, “Are you okay? Are you cold?”

Phil smiled and shook his head, “No cold, perfect.”

He was going to need to form full sentences if this whole proposal thing was going to work out though. 

“No cold?” Dan teased with a smile. He pressed a kiss to Phil’s forehead and an immediate calm washed over Phil starting at his forehead and traveling down his entire body. He found peace with Dan in a way he’d never felt anywhere. Even just Dan’s presence alone had magical powers over Phil’s anxiety. And now he was ready. He was ready to ask Dan the biggest question of their relationship. They’d been together 10 years. Many people would already be married and divorced in that amount of time but they were only ever on their own timeline. And now they were ready. 

“Dan,” Phil started to say a little quieter than he intended.

“Hm?” Dan said turning his attention to Phil. 

Phil pulled one of his hands free from Dan’s grasped and reached into one of the inside pockets of his coat where he was keeping Dan’s ring safe. 

Dan’s eyes traveled the movement of Phil’s hand and when he realized he was holding a ring Dan quietly gasped.

“Holy shit, it’s actually happening,” Dan whispered, “Like you’re literally about to propose?”

Phil swallowed tightly then nervously licked his lips, “I love you.”

Phil was finding it a lot harder to speak than he anticipated. He had planned an entire romantic and sappy monologue that he knew would bring Dan to happy tears but here and now in the moment his throat was working against him. The long and drawn out confession of lifelong love would have to come later when they were back at the hotel room snuggled up in bed. But for now, all he could manage was the only question that mattered in that moment.

“Daniel,” Phil started but then cleared his throat, “Dan - will you marry me?”

Tears slipped from Dan’s eyes, “Fuck yeah.” 

With shaky hands, Phil slipped the ring on Dan’s finger and was met with one of the most intense kisses of his life. It seemed to stop time and last a lifetime leaving him breathless. 

When Dan finally pulled back he laughed, “I thought you’d never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you're having a good day and if you want to come say hi on tumblr feel free :)
> 
> [tumblr link ](https://lazy-phan.tumblr.com/post/189044599024/im-not-proposing)


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